The Minister of State in charge of Tertiary Education, Professor Kwesi Yankah has advised communities that host public universities to desist from demanding that the leadership of the university be drawn from the area.
Addressing the second session of the fourth congregation of the University of Health and Allied Sciences in Ho, the Minister said such practices do not allow the institutions to recruit the best hands to manage the countries public universities.
The Minister who showered praise on the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Health and Allied Sciences, Prof. John Owusu Gyapong, for his remarkable efforts in growing the young university, said all qualified Ghanaians must be allowed to work anywhere in Ghana.
“We need not insist on having somebody from Ho to manage the University or say we need somebody from the University of Winneba to manage the University of Education in Winneba. Qualified Ghanaians should be able to work anywhere in Ghana,” Prof Yankah said.
The Minister went on to acknowledge that “the Volta Region is becoming a key hub of tertiary education in Ghana. He said the Region hosts the highest number of Colleges of Education with the University of Health and Allied Sciences and the Ho Technical Universities “opening the region up as an access way to education in the country.”
The Minister who toured some facilities within the University Community praised the University for “Wisely investing” its internally generated funds into needed infrastructure.
The university is constructing a 160-bed hostel and a basic school from its internally generated funds while government under the GETFund is constructing classroom facilities and residential facilities for faculty and administrative staff.
The Vice-Chancellor, Prof. John Owusu Gyapong told the media that, the University is preparing itself for some 40% intake.
“Our regular admissions are around 800 so in preparation for the free SHS beneficiaries, we have increased our last enrolment to 1,000 in preparation for 1,200 free SHS beneficiaries.”
The university graduated a total of 438 students made up of 36 graduates and 402 undergraduates.
Guest speaker, Devine Kporha, an alumnus of the University who recently won the Diana award for “selflessly transforming the lives of others and going above and beyond to create and sustain positive change” encouraged the graduates to give of their best and be worthy ambassadors of the university.
